Category Archives: Album Reviews

Fyfe Dangerfield, of the UK rock band Guillemots, proves to be very versatile in his debut solo venture, Fly Yellow Moon. The entire album has an eclectic ebb and flow and appears to mirror the relationship that Dangerfield must have gained his inspiration from. He has very different sides to him — delicate and acoustic,...Read...

Swedish brother-sister duo, The Knife, have become known for their innovative music and extremely weird live shows. Their recent collaboration with Mt. Sims (DJ Matthew Sims) and PlanningtoRock (Janine Rostron, a Berlin-based musician/performer) is definitely a challenge to those who would have called their music “pop” when their albums Deep Cuts and Silent Shout made...Read...

“I’m ready/ I’m ready for anything you give me,” sings Ortolan’s Stephanie Cottingham on “Anything.” The lyrics of the opening track of Ortolan’s full-length debut, Time On A String, echo the anticipation surrounding the album’s release. And what you are given are dazzling songs with seemingly pretty surfaces belying a deeper exploration of struggles, aspiration...Read...

Imagine Ladyhawke and The Ting Tings fusing together in an all-too-common late night Canadian disco jam sesh, and you may be envisioning new wave fivesome You Say Party! We Say Die! clad in copious amounts of shiny accessories. The British Columbia-bred group’s third album, XXXX, boasts simple basslines layered under a mod-electro visage. Opening track...Read...

Florida-based Blind Man’s Colour is a relatively new band that already has a relatively large following. These internets! They do wonders. In a few short months, they received rave reviews and were even complimented by the Kanye himself. Wooden Blankets is the follow-up EP to their successful indie venture, Season Dreaming. Very of the moment,...Read...

The first thing that pops into my mind while listening to this Montreal four-piece’s sophomore effort is, “Who came first, the Priestess or The Sword?” And then I think about how The Priestess And The Sword sounds like a horrible ’80s fantasy movie replete with scantily clad bodybuilder types and busty wenches aplenty. The lyrics...Read...

One can say, without taking anything away from Beach House and Devotion, that on their latest offering, Teen Dream, Beach House rove deeper. The tracks still shimmer and haunt, but something more tangible is present in the lyrics. From its introduction with “Zebra” to the farewell of “Take Care,” in which, “It’s no good unless...Read...

As Constellations is a concept record about “the cosmos and beyond,” the route that Balmorhea has taken to realizing this concept is simply remarkable. Digital music-making equipment has defined the realm of all things cosmic in a way that is now somewhat predictable; it seems that space is musically textured by long, drawn-out electronic ambience....Read...

Whether you hated them or loved them, in the early 00’s, The Blood Brothers were THE It Band of the hardcore scene. Wild, uncontrollable, unpredictable, and highly intelligent, the band quickly amassed a devoted following, praised by the die-hard fans for their originality and irreverent approach to punk rock, all the while attracting hordes of...Read...